Electrical conductor



(No Model.)

L. C. WERNER. ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR.

Patented'fb. 1, 1898.

Wim eases.' 54% ym IINTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

LOUIS C. VERNER, CF BROADBROOK, CONNECTICUT.

ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR.

4SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 598,260, dated February 1, 1898.

Application filed June 15, 1897. Serial No. 640,838. (No model.)

To aZZiw/om/ it may concern.:

Be it known that I, Louis C. WERNER, a

, citizen of the United States, residing in Broadbrook, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrical Conductors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in electrical conductors, and especially to means for supporting and tensioning a conductor while maintaining the latter in position to present a substantially continuous working face with which a current-collector may make traveling contact.

The conductor illustrated herein is especially designed and intended for use in connection with the line-wires of a signal or other system in which it is necessary for a vehicle to make traveling contact with a suitable conductor extending along the line over which the vehicle passes; and the main object of this invention is to support and tension this conductor in such a manner that a traveling current-collector may make a goed contact therewith at all times and under varying conditions of temperature. Hence one of the main features of my improvement is the emr ployment of suitable means for compensating 4for variations in the length of the conductor,

(or in the different sections thereof if it is a sectional conductor,) the compensating de- Y vice which I prefer to employ being in the nature of a take-up connector of such construction that while joining separated portions of a continuous wire or adjacent ends of a sectional conductor it may also serve as those points at which this wire is supported, at a distance from the compensating take-ups, I prefer to make use of supporting devices or conductor-clamps adaptedk to engage opposite or bent portions of the main wire,the space at the bend being spanned by a short conducting member or bridge-piece in alinement with the main wire in order to form a rm support for the wire, while at the same time retaining the essential feature of a continuous working face.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, Figure l is a side elevation of a take-up supported in Working position by a track-rail and illustrating the preferred form of my invention. Fig. :2 is a sectional end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan of the same` tional end elevation illustrating a modifica Fig. 4 is a detail sec' tion of the mode of insulating the take-up from the rail. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modication of the take-up, illustrating the manner in which expansion and contraction may be compensated for in a continuous conductor. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a takeup, illustrating another modification of my invention and showing the adjacent ends of tWo sections of a conductor connected to supporting means. Fig. 7 is a sectional end elevation of the same. Fig. 8 is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of a conductor support and clamp and a bridge-piece for spanning a bent lportion of the main wire at the point where it is engaged by the clamp; and Fig. 9 is a sectional end View of the same.

Similar characters designate like parts in all'the figures of the drawings.

The preferred form of compensating takeup which I employ is illustrated in Figs. I, 2, and 3 and embodies as its essential features a connecting member `or connector, preferably rigid and secured to the conductor at some suitable pointtherein and having its Working face substantially continuous with that of the wire, and a resilient member, such as a spring, for joining said connector with the wire at another point in the length of the latter. In the construction illustrated two connecting members are shown, m and m',

these being preferably in the form of metal IOO ductor being secured to the plates m and m in any suitable manner, as by means of rlvets. These plates have projecting therefrom arms,

such as 2 and 2', which in this instance depend from the main portions of the plates and are bored to receive the ends of a spring s, which constitutes a yielding or resilient connector for joining the two plates and hence the portions of the conductor to which the plates are connected. The extreme straight ends of the spring, which form continuations of the latter, are preferably screw-threaded and may carry adjusting and check nuts, such as 3 and 3', for regulating the tension of the spring and hence the force to be applied to keep the conductor in its proper position after the wire has been strung. These takeu ps may be located at suitable intervals along the conductor and will be carried usually by fixed supports. Preferably they will be mounted on supporting. arms or brackets secured to one of the track-rails, which is indicated herein at R. In these v-iews the plates m and m are preferably separated by Washers, such as 4 and 4', mounted on suitable guide-pins 5 and 5', Working in slots 6 and 6' of the plates, these guide-pins being secured to the insulating supports or brackets attached to the track-rail. In this case the pins 5 and 5 are seated in a plate 7, connected to the body 8 of the support or bracket, this body portion being insulated from the trackrail in any usual manner-asfor example, by a porcelain plate 9. The inner surfaces of the insulating-plate and the body portion of the bracket may be serrated, as shown, in order to maintain the parts in their proper positions. Moreover, the bolts, such as 10, by means of which the bracket and the insulatingplate will be secured to the track-rail, should be insulated either at the point Where each bolt passes through the bracket, as is the case in Fig. 2, or else at the neck thereof, where it passes through the track-rail, asis the case with the bolt shown at 10', Fig. 4. This insulation may be of hard rubber or any other suitable material.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a modification of my invention in which the conductor c is continuous, and two separated portions thereof are bent to form loops 12 and 12', adapted to receive hooked portions 13 and 13" at the ends of a coil-spring s', which forms in this case the compensating take-up andl connector. tion also the Working faces of the conductor and the spring form substantially a continuous-line. Moreover, the loops 12 and 12 are formed, preferably, by wrapping with line wire, as indicated at 14 and 14', those portions of the conductor around which the Wire is wrapped being bent to form a space in which the wire may be received and positioned and at the same time maintain the continuity of the working face of the main Wire. l

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have illustrated another modification of the invention in which the It will be noticed that in this modifica* inner ends of adjacent sections of a sectional conductor are secured not Vdirectly to each other, but to take-up devices mounted on a support or bracket S' in substantially the same manner as the take-up illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 is carried. In this case the ends of the conductor are secured to short chains 15 and 15', passing around rollers 16 and 16',

mounted on studs 17 and 17', secured to the bracket S'. Each of these rollers has a smooth portion throughout part of its periphery and a toothed portion covering the remainder of its periphery, the roller thus constituting a combined segmental gear and pulley, on the latter portion of Which the chain is adapted to be Wound, while the former serves as a means for causing or permitting the winding up or unwinding of the chain on the expansion or contraction of the conductor. Each gear is in this instance in mesh with a corresponding pinion 18 or 18', these pinions being carriedv on studs 19 and 19', also projecting from the bracket S', and around each of these studs is coiled a spring, only one of which (that at 20') is illustrated. These springs are connected at their inner ends to the pinions, as shown clearly in Fig. 7, and at their outer ends to collars 21 and 21', and the tension of the springs is regulable by means of these collars. This regulation is effected by turning the collars on the outer ends of the studs 19 and 19,l and then securing the collars in place, as by means of nuts 22 and 22', between which nuts and suitable shoulders on the hold the nuts in place, I may make use of IOO bindin`g-screws 23 and 23', the action of which will be Obvious.

As-the chains 15 and 15' are separated somewhat from each other, I prefer to employ in connection therewith a fixed intermediate or guide such as is shown at 25, having its upper face in alinement with the working face of the conductor and completely filling the space between the points at which the chains pass off from the rollers, thus'forming a substantially continuous conducting-face in alinement with the main wire.

As the conductor c will usually be supported intermediate adjacent take-ups and held in a fixed position with respect to the rail R, I have illustrated a support or bracket by means of which the conductor may be carried in such a manner that .its working face will always be in a straight line. This bracket is designated by S", and, except as to its size, is in most respects similar to that illustrated at 8, Fig. 2. The plate, however, which receivesdirectly the conductor and is indicated at 7 has a hollowed-out portion at its upper side into which a corresponding offset or bent portion of the conductor is intended to be received. This offset portion is indicated at c' and is out of line with the body of the conductor. It forms in this instance a segment by which the conductor as a Whole is fixed relatively to the track-rail when the segment is secured to proper supporting devices, the means shown in this instance for the purpose being two clamp-plates, such as 30 and 30", which constitute a conductorclamp and grasp the bent portions c at opposite sides thereof at points below the upper face of the main conductor, as will be noticed i by reference to Fig. 8;

These clamp-plates may be secured to the plate 7 in any desired manner-as, for instance, by means of rivets.

For the purpose of spanning the gap between t-he ends of the bent portion of the conductor I make use of a conducting member or bridge-piece, such as b, which may be soldered to the main conductor or connected thereto in any suitable way. This construction, while maintaining a continuous working face for coperating with a traveling current-collector, also permits the obtain ment of a 'firm hold upon the conductor, whereby it may be held rigidly against displacement.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that by means of my improved device for supporting and tensioning conductorwires of the class specified I am enabled to string the wires in such a manner that a straight continuous workin g face will be presented at all points to the contact-face oi' a current-collector movable thereover and that the wire will remain under tension no matter what the temperaturemay be.

I-Iaving described my invention, I claim" l. The combination, with a line of way, of

an electrical conductor extending'along such.

line; means for supporting the conductor; a pair of connecting members secured, respectively, to the conductor at different points in the latter and having aworking face substantially continuous with that of the conductor; and resilient connecting means between said members.

. 2. The combination, with a line of way, of an electrical conductor extending along such a line; an insulating-support for the conductor; a pair of connecting members slidable on said support and secured, respectively, to the conductor atdifferent points in tinuous with that of the conductor and also having a pair of arms at opposite ends thereof, respectively; and a spring connecting such arms.

4. The combination, with a line of way, of an electrical conductor extending along such line and having a bent portion out of alinement with the body of the conductor; 4supporting means for engaging said bent portion and supporting the conductor; and a conducting bridge-piece spanning such bend and in alinementwith the body of the conductor.

5. The combination, with a line of way, of an electrical conductor extending along such line and having a bent portion out of alinement with the body of the conductor; a conductor-clamp for engaging said bent portion and supporting the conductor; and a conducting bridge-piece spanning such bend and in alinementwith the body of the conductor.

LOUIS C. WERNER. Witnesses:

FRED. J. DOLE,- HEATH SUTHERLAND. 

